JP2019189437A - Image reading device - Google Patents

Abstract

To enhance the possibility of maintaining appropriate attitude of a contact lever for a long period, in an image reading device for employing contact-type detection means for detecting passage of a document by contacting with the document.SOLUTION: This device comprises: a document conveyance passage extending along a horizontal direction when the device is in a first attitude; a conveyance roller for conveying a document by making the document face a reading position in the document conveyance passage; a rotational contact member which is provided on the upstream of the conveyance roller in the document conveyance passage and in which a contact part contacting to the document by rotating can take an attitude for blocking the document conveyance passage and an attitude for opening the document conveyance passage; a pressing member for pressing the rotational contact member in a direction where the contact part blocks the document conveyance passage; and detection means for detecting the attitude of the rotational contact member. A center of rotation of the rotational contact member is positioned on the upper side of the document conveyance passage in the first attitude, and further the contact part protrudes from the upper side toward the lower side of the document conveyance passage, and a centroid position of the rotational contact member is near the lower side than the rotational center in the first attitude.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 13

Description

  The present invention relates to an image reading apparatus that reads a document.

  As an example of an image reading apparatus, Patent Document 1 discloses a document scanner that is small and is used by being placed on a desk or being carried outside.

JP 2014-012594 A

  There are cases where a sensor for detecting that a document has been inserted is provided in a document transport path for transporting the document. In Patent Document 1, the inlet sensor 113 corresponds to this. Further, Patent Document 1 describes that the entrance sensor 113 may be any sensor such as a reflection type optical sensor, a transmission type optical sensor, or a lever type contact sensor.

The sensor is preferably a lever-type contact sensor from the viewpoint of suppressing the cost of the apparatus and suppressing erroneous detection. However, the sensor is particularly small and placed on a desk like the scanner described in Patent Document 1. In the case of being used by being carried outside, the following specific technical problems arise.
In other words, in the configuration employing the lever-type contact sensor, the contact lever is normally maintained in the position of blocking the document conveyance path by the pressing means such as a spring. Then, by pushing up the contact lever against the spring force by the leading edge of the document, it is possible to detect the passage of the leading edge of the document.

Here, if the posture of the device changes, depending on the posture, the contact lever tries to retreat from the document transport path due to the action of gravity, so the shape of the contact lever and the spring force that presses the contact lever are limited to one installation posture. In addition, it is necessary to determine in consideration of other installation postures.
Then, if the contact lever resists the force of retraction from the document transport path due to the action of gravity and the spring tries to project the contact lever into the document transport path for a long time, the contact lever will As a result, the balance between the force for retracting from the document transport path and the force for the spring to project the contact lever into the document transport path is lost, and the posture of the contact lever may not be maintained properly.

  Further, if the spring force of the spring is large, the force required for the leading edge of the document to push up the contact lever becomes large, and if the document has low rigidity, the leading edge of the document cannot push up the contact lever, which may cause a jam. There is. In order to avoid such a problem, if the spring force of the spring is set to the minimum necessary magnitude, the force and spring that the contact lever tries to retreat from the document transport path by the action of gravity and the spring transport the contact lever. The balance with the force to be projected into the path becomes very delicate, and the above-described problem is more likely to occur.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an appropriate posture of a contact lever in an image reading apparatus that employs contact-type detection means that detects passage of a document by contacting the document. Is to increase the possibility of maintaining the longer.

  In order to solve the above problems, an image reading apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a document transport path for transporting a document that extends along a horizontal direction when the device is in a first posture, and the document. A conveyance roller that conveys the document toward a reading position for reading the document in the conveyance path, and a contact portion that is provided upstream of the conveyance roller in the document conveyance path and contacts the document by rotating blocks the document conveyance path. A rotating contact member capable of taking a posture and a posture in which the contact portion opens the document conveying path, a pressing member that presses the rotating contact member in a direction in which the contact portion blocks the document conveying path, and the rotating contact member Detecting means for detecting the attitude of the rotary contact member, wherein the rotation contact member is positioned above the document conveyance path in the first attitude and the contact portion is in front of Protrudes from the upper side of the document conveying path toward the lower center of gravity of the rotary contact member is characterized in that below the center of rotation in the first position.

  The first posture is one of the postures of the device, and is a posture in which the document transport path extends along the horizontal direction and is likely to occupy the longest time in the life of the device. It is a normal installation posture. The image reading apparatus according to this aspect utilizes such a property, that is, the rotating contact member that rotates by contacting the leading edge of the document is positioned above the document transport path in the first posture and The contact portion protrudes from the upper side to the lower side of the document transport path, and the center of gravity of the rotary contact member is below the rotation center in the first posture. Therefore, in the first posture, The rotary contact member can be lowered by its own weight without requiring the pressing force of the pressing means, and can block the original conveying path.

  Therefore, in the first posture, that is, the posture that is most likely to occupy the longest time in the life of the apparatus, the pressing force by the pressing means and the rotary contact member are retracted from the document conveyance path by the action of gravity. The posture of the rotating contact member can be appropriately maintained without being opposed to the force to be attempted. Moreover, in the first posture, an unnecessary counter force does not act on the pressing means, so that the pressing force of the pressing means can be appropriately maintained over a long period of time.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, when the pressing force of the pressing member is such that the posture of the apparatus is a second posture along the vertical direction of the document conveyance path, the contact portion Is set to a size that maintains the state of blocking the document transport path.

  According to this aspect, the pressing force of the pressing member is a state in which the contact portion blocks the original conveyance path when the posture of the apparatus is the second attitude along the vertical direction of the original conveyance path. Therefore, even when the apparatus is in the second posture, the apparatus can be used appropriately.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the position of the center of gravity is closer to the center of rotation than the position where the leading edge of the document hits the contact portion.
According to this aspect, since the position of the center of gravity is closer to the rotation center than the position where the leading edge of the document hits the contact portion, the center of gravity position is farther from the rotation center than the position where the tip of the document hits the contact portion. Compared to the configuration, the rotary contact member can be pushed up with a light force.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to third aspects, the contact portion covers the entire area through which the document can pass in the document width direction that is a direction intersecting the document conveyance direction. It is characterized by that.

  According to this aspect, the contact portion covers the entire area through which the document can pass in the document width direction that intersects the document conveyance direction, so that the passage of the document can be detected regardless of the document size. Can do.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the fourth aspect, the contact portion is provided at an appropriate interval along the document width direction.
According to this aspect, since the contact portion is provided at an appropriate interval along the document width direction, the rotating contact member can be reduced in weight, and the rotating contact member can be pushed up with a lighter force. Can do.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to fifth aspects, the sensor unit includes a sensor unit that reads a document, and the sensor unit presses the document between the conveyance rollers. .
According to this aspect, the sensor unit for reading a document is provided, and the sensor unit presses the document with the transport roller, so that a roller paired with the transport roller is not necessary, and the cost of the apparatus is reduced. Can be planned.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to fifth aspects, the control unit includes a control unit that receives the detection signal from the detection unit and controls the transport roller, and the control unit outputs the detection signal. Originally, the driving of the transport roller and reading of the original document are started after a predetermined time from detecting that the leading edge of the original document has rotated the rotary contact member.

  According to this aspect, the apparatus includes a control unit that receives the detection signal from the detection unit and controls the transport roller, and the control unit rotates the rotary contact member with the leading edge of the document based on the detection signal. After a predetermined time has elapsed from the detection, the driving of the transport roller and the reading of the document are started, so that it is possible to avoid the loss of the image at the leading edge of the document.

1 is an external perspective view showing a scanner according to the present invention. 1 is an external perspective view showing a scanner according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is an external perspective view showing a state in which the upper and lower housings of the scanner according to the invention are removed. FIG. 3 is an external perspective view showing a state in which the upper housing of the scanner according to the invention is removed. FIG. 3 is an external perspective view showing a state in which the upper and lower housings of the scanner according to the invention are removed. FIG. 3 is a side sectional view showing a document conveyance path in the scanner according to the invention. 1 is a partial cross-sectional perspective view of a scanner according to the present invention. 1 is a partial cross-sectional perspective view of a scanner according to the present invention. The figure which shows the state of the invitation part at the time of inserting a thin original. The figure which shows the state of the invitation part at the time of inserting a thick original. The figure which shows the whole path | route formation member and an invitation part. FIG. 3 is an overall perspective view of a document detection lever. The figure which shows the force applied to a document detection lever, when an apparatus is set | placed on a horizontal attitude | position (1st attitude | position). The figure which shows the force applied to a document detection lever, when an apparatus is set | placed to a perpendicular | vertical attitude | position (2nd attitude | position). FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a side surface on one side of the scanner according to the invention. The perspective view which shows the inner side of an upper housing. The perspective view of a top frame. The sectional side view of the scanner concerning other embodiments. 6 is a flowchart showing control when a document is inserted.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of an image reading apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, as an example of an image reading apparatus, a handy type scanner capable of reading either one of a front side and a back side of a document is taken as an example.

In the XYZ coordinate system shown in each drawing, the X direction is the apparatus width direction, and is the document width direction that intersects the document conveyance direction. Further, the Y direction is the document conveyance direction. The Z direction is the vertical direction and the apparatus height direction. Also, the + Y direction side is the document discharge direction, the right side is the + X direction and the left side is the -X direction with the document insertion port 5 facing forward.
Further, the + Z direction is set vertically upward, and the −Z direction side is set vertically downward. The direction in which the document is conveyed (+ Y direction side) is referred to as “downstream”, and the opposite direction (−Y direction side) is referred to as “upstream”.

  Note that the scanner 1 according to this embodiment is a small-sized, so-called handy type scanner. Accordingly, the apparatus posture when used is not necessarily in the state shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, that is, the apparatus upper surface (operation panel 7) faces vertically upward, and the document transport path T described later does not always follow the horizontal direction. In the following, unless otherwise stated, when describing the structure and positional relationship of each component in terms of “upper side” and “lower side”, the case where the component is placed in the posture (normal posture) shown in FIGS. It is assumed.

1 and 2, the scanner 1 has a long shape in the X direction, and the outer appearance is roughly constituted by an upper housing 4, an operation panel 7, and a lower housing 3. An operation panel 7 for performing various operations is provided on the + X direction side. On the side surface on the operation panel 7 side, a connector insertion port 14 for connecting to an external device is opened.
As shown in FIG. 1 with the document insertion port 5 facing forward, the document insertion port 5 is formed between the path forming member 9 and the top frame 8.
Further, as shown in FIG. 2 with the document discharge port 6 facing forward, the document discharge port 6 is formed between the upper housing 4 and the lower housing 3, and a later-described transport roller is provided inside the document discharge port 6. Part of 11 is visible.

  3 and 5 with the upper housing 4 and the lower housing 3 removed, and FIG. 4 with only the upper housing 4 removed, the apparatus main body 2 of the scanner 1 forms a path that forms the lower side of the document conveyance path. The member 9 and the top frame 8 and the sensor unit 20 that form the upper side of the document conveyance path constitute a base. On the upper side of the document transport path, the top frame 8 forms the upstream side of the document transport path, and the sensor unit 20 forms the downstream side of the document transport path.

As shown in FIG. 5, a battery 17 and a control unit 16 are provided below the path forming member 9 and constitute the bottom of the apparatus main body 2. The control unit 16 is formed by providing a plurality of electronic components on a circuit board.
A motor 18 is provided on the −X direction side of the apparatus main body 2, and the power of the motor 18 is configured to be transmitted to a transport roller 11 as a drive roller described later.

In FIG. 6, a broken line indicated by a symbol T indicates a document transport path, and the document transport path T is substantially along the horizontal direction in the normal posture of the scanner 1.
The document inserted from the document insertion port 5 is guided by the path forming member 9 toward the nip position between the transport roller 11 and the sensor unit 20 as the “document pressing portion”. When a user who uses the scanner 1 inserts a document from the document insertion slot 5, the end of the document hits the nip position between the transport roller 11 and the sensor unit 20, or the end of the document hits the transport roller 11. Can be obtained. In the manual mode, a small amount of the front end of the document is nipped between the transport roller 11 and the sensor unit 20 by a small amount of rotation of the transport roller 11, and the scan button 7a (FIGS. 1 to 4) is pressed in this state (reading standby state). Then, the rotation of the transport roller 11 starts and reading of the original is started. In the automatic mode, the document is automatically conveyed and read without pressing the scan button 7a, which will be described later.

As shown in FIG. 6, a document detection lever 10 is provided between the document insertion slot 5 and the transport roller 11. The document detection lever 10 is provided so as to be rotatable with respect to the top frame 8 around the rotation shaft 10a (see also FIG. 12) as viewed from the document conveyance path T. The rotary shaft 10a is positioned above the document transport path T, and the contact portion 10b is provided from the rotary shaft 10a so as to protrude from the top to the bottom with respect to the document transport path T so as to block the document transport path T.
The rotating shaft 10a of the document detection lever 10 is provided with a coil spring 12 which is an example of a pressing means. The document detection lever 10 is moved in the direction in which the contact portion 10b protrudes into the document transport path T (the clockwise direction in FIG. 6). ).

The document detection lever 10 is provided with a detected portion 10d (FIG. 12). The detected portion 10d is an optical sensor provided on the top frame 8 by the rotation of the document detection lever 10 (FIG. 12). 3 and FIG. 4) are provided so as to block or deviate from the optical axis.
When a document is inserted from the document insertion slot 5, the leading edge of the document pushes up the contact portion 10b, and the document detection lever 10 rotates as indicated by reference numeral 10-1. That is, by rotating the document detection lever 10, the contact portion 10b in contact with the document can take an attitude in which the document conveyance path T is blocked, and the contact portion 10b can take an attitude in which the document conveyance path T is opened.
With the above configuration, the control unit 16 (FIG. 5) of the scanner 1 moves along the document transport path T based on the detection signal sent from the sensor unit 13 which is an example of a detection unit that detects the posture of the document detection lever 10. It is possible to detect whether or not a document is inserted.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the document detection lever 10 has contact portions 10b and recesses 10c formed alternately along the longitudinal direction (X direction). On the other hand, the path forming member 9 has recesses 9a formed at predetermined intervals along the X direction (FIG. 11), and the contact portion 10b enters the recess 9a so that the contact portion 10b blocks the document transport path T. Can do.

Next, the sensor unit 20 is configured as a contact image sensor module (CISM) in the present embodiment, and includes a glass plate 21 that forms a reading surface 21a under the frame 22 constituting the base.
Since the glass plate 21 nips the original with the conveying roller 11, the sensor unit 20 is provided so as to be able to be displaced in the vertical direction so as to cope with various original thicknesses.

As shown in FIG. 7, a guide groove 4 d extending in the vertical direction is formed at an end portion in the + X direction in the upper housing 4, and formed in the frame 22 constituting the sensor unit 20 in the guide groove 4 d. The projections 22a, 22a are inserted and guided in the vertical direction.
As shown in FIG. 8, a guide groove 4b extending in the vertical direction is formed at the end portion in the −X direction of the upper housing 4, and a frame constituting the sensor unit 20 is formed in the guide groove 4b. Protrusions 22a and 22b formed on 22 enter and are guided in the vertical direction.
Note that the protrusion 22b shown in FIG. 8 has a slightly smaller diameter than the protrusion 22a, and a certain amount of play is secured between the protrusion 22b and the guide groove 4b. This ensures a smooth displacement operation in the vertical direction of the sensor unit 20 as compared with the configuration in which all the protrusions are formed with the same diameter while stabilizing the posture of the sensor unit 20.

  A circuit board 23 is provided on the upper surface of the sensor unit 20 as shown in FIGS. 3, 4, and 6, and a spring 19 that exerts a pressing force between the circuit board 23 and the upper housing 4 is provided. ing. In this embodiment, two springs 19 are compression springs, and two springs 19 are provided at intervals in the X direction. The sensor unit 20 is pressed downward by the spring 19, so that the glass plate 21 is pressed against the transport roller 11.

Here, in FIG. 6, the position Y <b> 1 is the rotation center position of the transport roller 11 and is also the contact center position with the glass plate 21. The position Y2 is a reading position of the sensor unit 20. As shown in the figure, the position Y2 is located slightly inside the apparatus (upstream side) from the position Y1. As a result, deterioration in reading quality due to the influence of external light entering the inside of the apparatus from the document discharge port 6 is suppressed.
In addition, the conveyance roller 11 is formed by providing an elastic material (for example, elastomer) on the outer peripheral surface of the metal shaft, and the elastic material is crushed at a contact portion with the glass plate 21 so that the conveyance roller 11 and the glass plate 21 are in contact with each other. The area has a predetermined length (for example, about 1 mm) in the document conveyance direction. The reading position Y <b> 2 is located in the contact area between the transport roller 11 and the glass plate 21 due to the collapse of the transport roller 11.

  Next, an invitation portion provided in the vicinity of the upstream of the transport roller 11 will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10. In the scanner 1 according to the present embodiment, since the sensor unit 20 is above the document transport path T, the document is transported in a face-up state and discharged. For this reason, it is possible to insert the document while confirming the contents of the document, and it is easy to handle for the user. In addition, a roller that is paired with the transport roller 11 becomes unnecessary, and the cost of the apparatus can be reduced. However, in such a configuration, when the leading edge of the document heading to the nip position between the conveyance roller 11 and the sensor unit 20 hits the conveyance roller 11 and the user releases the hand due to a sense of contact at that time, the document is correctly There is a possibility of causing a conveyance failure without being nipped.

That is, a lower guide which is provided on the lower side in the document conveyance path T, applies a feeding force to the document, and is upstream of the driven conveyance roller 11 and is below the document conveyance path T, that is, the upper surface of the path forming member 9. The height position (position H0) of the surface 9b is lower than the highest position (position H2) of the outer peripheral surface of the transport roller 11. In such a configuration, the leading edge of the document may hit the conveyance roller 11.
Therefore, in the scanner 1, an invitation unit 30 that invites the document from the lower guide surface 9 b to a position higher than the lower guide surface 9 b on the outer peripheral surface of the transport roller 11 (for example, position H <b> 1) is provided downstream of the lower guide surface 9 b. Is provided. As a result, the leading edge of the document inserted into the document conveying path T is invited to a high position H1 as shown by the transition from the upper diagram to the lower diagram in FIG. It is possible to realize appropriate conveyance while suppressing the above.

  The upper surface of the invitation portion 30 is an invitation surface that invites the document tip to a high position, but the inclination angle of the invitation surface when the document tip is invited to a high position can be set as appropriate. For example, the invitation surface and the tangent line on the outer peripheral surface of the conveyance roller 11 may be connected to each other when the document conveyance path T is viewed from the side.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the invitation unit 30 is configured to invite the document to a position H1 higher than the lower guide surface 9b on the outer peripheral surface of the transport roller 11, and the document in the first state. A second state (lower diagram in FIG. 10) in which the original is invited to a position H0 lower than the invitation position H1 is provided so as to be switchable.

In the following, the invitation portion 30 is provided so as to be rotatable about the rotation shaft 30a as viewed from the side of the document conveyance path T, and is pressed upward by a coil spring 31 which is an example of a pressing means. The first state is maintained. In addition, the invitation part 30 is comprised so that rotation may stop with the upward attitude | position as shown to the upper figure of FIG.9 and FIG.10 with the stopper not shown.
FIG. 9 illustrates the movement of the invitation portion 30 when inserting a relatively thin and thin original P1 such as plain paper. As shown in the transition from the upper diagram of FIG. 9 to the lower diagram. When the leading end P1a of the document P1 reaches the invitation portion 30, the leading end P1a is invited to a position H1 higher than the position H0 (the height position of the lower guide surface 9b) by the invitation portion 30 that remains in the first state. . As a result, the bump of the tip P1a against the transport roller 11 is suppressed.

  On the other hand, FIG. 10 illustrates the movement of the invitation portion 30 when inserting a thick and thick original P2 such as a credit card or a cash card, and the transition from the upper diagram to the lower diagram in FIG. When the leading edge P2a of the document P2 reaches the invitation portion 30, the document P2 pushes down the invitation portion 30, so that the lower corner portion of the leading end P2a is approximately at the position H0 (the height of the lower guide surface 9b). The outer peripheral surface of the transport roller 11 at the same height position as the position). The depression of the invitation part 30 by the document P2 is caused by the fact that the gap between the tip of the invitation part 30 in the first state and the glass plate 21 is smaller than the thickness of the document P2. However, even if the gap between the tip of the invitation portion 30 in the first state and the glass plate 21 is larger than the thickness of the document P2, the invitation portion 30 is caused to be, for example, due to the weight of the document P2. It may be pushed down.

In this way, depending on the type of document, when the document is inserted into the document transport path T and the leading edge of the document is brought into contact with the transport roller 11, a stronger sense of abutment can be obtained.
That is, in the case of a highly rigid document, if the leading edge is guided as it is to the document nip position between the transport roller 11 and the glass plate 21, the leading edge pushes the sensor unit 20 upward, resulting in a poor sense of contact. In some cases, the leading edge of the document is inserted further into the back than the document nip position between the transport roller 11 and the glass plate 21. However, when the invitation portion 30 is in the second state, it is possible to obtain a strong sense of abutting the leading edge of the document with the transport roller 11 and position the document at an appropriate position.

Note that the feeling of abutting the leading edge of the document against the conveying roller 11 means that the leading edge of the document hits the conveying roller 11, but in the case of a thick document, the leading edge is conveyed. Even if the roller 11 hits the stomach, the tip of the transport roller 11 is appropriately invited between the transport roller 11 and the glass plate 21 by the rotation of the transport roller 11.
Accordingly, the scanner 1 according to the present invention includes such a document (a document having high rigidity and a large thickness), a document in which conveyance failure occurs due to the bump on the conveyance roller 11 (a document having a low rigidity and a small thickness), This is suitable for reading both.

As described above, the invitation unit 30 maintains the first state when the document P1 (FIG. 9), which is an example of the first medium, is inserted into the document transport path T, and is thicker than the first medium. When the document P2 (FIG. 10), which is an example of the second medium, is inserted into the document transport path T, the first state is switched to the second state.
As a result, a dedicated means for switching the state of the invitation unit 30 is not required, and the cost of the apparatus can be suppressed.

  In addition, you may comprise the invitation part 30 so that it may become a non-projecting state from the lower side guide surface 9b in a 2nd state. As a result, it is possible to obtain a better sense of abutment when the leading edge of the document abuts against the transport roller 11.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the invitation part 30 is formed in a size that covers the entire document width direction (X direction), which is a direction intersecting the document conveyance direction (Y direction), as shown in FIG. Thereby, regardless of the document size, the leading edge of the document inserted into the document conveying path T can be invited to a high position on the outer peripheral surface of the conveying roller 11, and the leading edge of the leading edge of the document to the conveying roller 11 can be more reliably detected. It is possible to suppress and realize appropriate conveyance.

  In the present embodiment, the document pressing unit that nips the document with the conveyance roller 11 is a sensor unit 20 that reads the document, and the sensor unit 20 includes a surface that contacts the conveyance roller 11 as a reading surface. It is provided to be able to advance and retreat with respect to the transport roller 11. In this way, the document pressing portion is configured by the sensor unit 20, which can contribute to cost reduction and size reduction of the apparatus. Further, since the sensor unit 20 can advance and retreat with respect to the transport roller 11, it can cope with documents having various thicknesses.

The scanner 1 according to this embodiment has the following features in addition to the above-described features. First, as shown in FIG. 16, a plurality of ribs 4 a are formed on the back side of the upper housing 4. The ribs 4a are mainly configured to extend in the longitudinal direction (X direction) and to extend in the document transport direction (Y direction).
In this way, by forming a large number of ribs 4a on the back surface of the upper housing 4, the rigidity of the upper housing 4 is improved, and deformation when external pressure is applied can be satisfactorily suppressed.
Moreover, the same rib 8a is formed also in the top frame 8 as shown in FIG. 17, thereby improving the rigidity of the top frame 8 and satisfactorily suppressing deformation when an external pressure is applied.

As shown in FIG. 15, the connector insertion port 14 having the connection portion 15 on the back side, which is a connection portion with an external device, is formed by the lower housing 3, but the inner wall 3 e that forms the connector insertion port 14. A plurality of ribs 3d extending in the connector insertion direction are formed on 3f, 3g, and 3h. Note that FIG. 15 does not show the rib 3d formed on the inner wall 3g and the inner wall 3h because of the angle shown in the figure, but the inner wall 3g is formed with the rib 3d similarly to the inner wall 3e, and the inner wall 3h has the inner wall 3d. The rib 3d is formed similarly to the above.
Even when an attempt is made to rock the connector with the plurality of ribs 3d inserted therein, the inner walls 3e, 3f, 3g, and 3h resist the movement of the connector (not shown). Can be minimized, and damage to the connecting portion 15 can be suppressed.

  In FIG. 15, holes 3 c and 4 c are holes for passing a strap. Hole 3 c is formed in lower housing 3 and hole 4 c is formed in upper housing 4. For this reason, compared with the case where both holes 3c and 4c are formed in one housing, the mold structure is simplified, and the increase in cost can be suppressed.

  The battery provided at the bottom of the apparatus is preferably provided in an inclined posture as shown in FIG. In FIG. 18, the battery 17A provided at the bottom of the scanner 1A is provided in an inclined posture having an inclination angle α with respect to a horizontal plane so that the document insertion port 5 side is high and the document discharge port 6 side is low. Thereby, the battery 17A having a large dimension in the Y direction can be stored, and the battery capacity can be secured. Reference numeral 24 denotes a vibration absorber formed of an elastic material such as sponge.

  The scanner 1 includes a control unit (circuit board) 16 (FIG. 5) and a battery 17A below the document transport path T, and a sensor unit 20 above the document transport path T. While ensuring the vertical movement range, the overall size of the apparatus can be suppressed.

Next, the document detection lever 10 as a rotation detection member will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 13 and 14 and also with reference to other drawings.
If the above-described normal posture of the scanner 1 (the posture in which the document transport path T is along the horizontal direction) is the first posture, the scanner 1 may be used in a posture different from the first posture. Hereinafter, as an example of such a posture, an installation posture (second posture) of the scanner 1 in which the document transport path T is along the vertical direction will be described.

A document detection lever 10 for detecting that a document has been inserted from the document insertion slot 5 constitutes a contact-type detection means, and is less than a transmissive or reflective optical sensor in terms of cost reduction and false detection suppression. However, if the orientation of the scanner 1 changes, the contact portion 10b of the document detection lever 10 tends to retreat from the document transport path T due to the action of gravity depending on the orientation, and therefore the coil spring that presses the document detection lever 10 The twelve spring forces need to be determined in consideration of not only one installation posture but also other installation postures.
Then, the contact portion 10b of the document detection lever 10 resists the force of retraction from the document conveyance path T due to the action of gravity, and the coil spring 12 tries to project the contact portion 10b of the document detection lever 10 into the document conveyance path. If the state to be maintained continues for a long time, the force that the contact portion 10b of the document detection lever 10 tries to retreat from the document transport path T due to the action of gravity and the coil spring 12 transport the document contact portion 10b of the document detection lever 10 along the aging. There is a possibility that the balance with the force to project the path T is lost, and the posture of the document detection lever 10 cannot be maintained properly.

  Further, when the spring force of the coil spring 12 is large, the force required for the leading end of the document to push up the contact portion 10b of the document detection lever 10 increases, and in the case of a document having low rigidity, the leading end of the document is the contact portion 10b of the document detection lever 10. Cannot be pushed up, and there is a risk of jamming. In order to avoid such a problem, when the spring force of the coil spring 12 is set to the minimum necessary magnitude, the force that the contact portion 10b of the document detection lever 10 tries to retract from the document transport path T due to the action of gravity. The balance between the coil spring 12 and the force that causes the contact portion 10b of the document detection lever 10 to protrude into the document transport path T becomes very delicate, and the above-described problem is more likely to occur.

  In view of the above problems, the document detection lever 10 is arranged and configured as follows. In the normal posture (first posture) of the scanner 1, the rotation axis (rotation center) 10a of the document detection lever 10 is positioned above the document transport path T as shown in FIG. 13, and the contact portion 10b transports the document. Projecting from the upper side to the lower side of the path T, the gravity center position G of the document detection lever 10 is below the rotation axis (rotation center) 10a.

As a result, in the normal posture (first posture), the contact portion 10b of the document detection lever 10 can be lowered by its own weight without the pressing force of the coil spring 12, and the document transport path T can be blocked.
Therefore, in the normal posture (first posture), that is, the posture that is likely to occupy the longest time in the life of the apparatus, the pressing force (spring force) by the coil spring 12 and the document detection lever 10 are The posture of the document detection lever 10 can be appropriately maintained without being counteracted by the force to retract from the document conveyance path T due to the action. Further, in the normal posture (first posture), an unnecessary counter force does not act on the coil spring 12, so that the spring force of the coil spring 12 can be appropriately maintained over a long period of time.

The spring force of the coil spring 12 is such that the contact portion 10b moves along the document transport path T when the scanner 1 is in the second position along the vertical direction of the document transport path T as shown in FIG. It is set to a size that can maintain the shielded state.
Specifically, in FIG. 14, the symbol G is the gravity center position of the document detection lever 10, the symbol W is the weight of the document detection lever 10, the symbol Wr <b> 1 is the rotational force component of the weight W, and the symbol Rc is the rotation center position. , Lg represents the distance between the gravity center position G and the rotation center position Rc, and θ represents the angle formed by the direction of the rotational moment acting on the gravity center position G and the direction of gravity.
In the state of FIG. 14, the minimum torque Tmin required for the coil spring 12 to maintain the posture of the original detection lever 10 (the posture in which the contact portion 10b blocks the original conveyance path T) can be expressed by the following equation (A). it can.
Tmin = Lg × Wr1 = Lg × Wcos θ (A)
Therefore, if the rotational torque T applied to the document detection lever 10 by the coil spring 12 is equal to or greater than the minimum torque Tmin, the state shown in FIG. 14 can be maintained. The rotational force T of the coil spring 12 is preferably set with a predetermined margin with respect to the minimum torque Tmin in consideration of manufacturing variations of the document detection lever 10 and the like.

FIG. 13 shows the force acting on the document detection lever 10 when the scanner 1 is in the normal posture (first posture). Reference numeral F denotes a position S at which the front end of the document contacts the contact portion 10b. The force that pushes the contact portion 10b, the symbol Fr indicates the rotational force component of the force F, and the symbol Lf indicates the distance between the position S and the rotation center Rc. Reference sign Wr2 indicates a rotational direction component of the weight W.
The minimum value Fmin of the force F with which the front end of the document can push up the contact portion 10b can be obtained by the following equations (B), (C), and (D).
Fmin × cos θ = Fr (B)
Fr × Lf = Fmin × cos θ × Lf ≧ Wr2 × Lg + Tmin
= Wsin θ × Lg + Tmin (C)
Fmin ≧ [Wsin θ × Lg + Tmin] / [cos θ × Lf]
= [W sin θ × Lg + Lg × W cos θ] / [cos θ × Lf]
= [Lg × W × (sin θ + cos θ)] / [cos θ × Lf]

  The minimum value Fmin of the force F with which the leading edge of the document can push up the contact portion 10b is preferably as low as possible in view of enabling the contact portion 10b to be pushed up even with a low-rigidity document. From such a viewpoint, it is preferable to set the size and material of the document detection lever 10 and the spring force of the coil spring 12.

  In the present embodiment, the gravity center position G is closer to the rotation center position Rc than the position S where the leading edge of the document hits the contact portion 10b. As a result, it is possible to push up the document detection lever 10 with a light force as compared with the configuration in which the gravity center position G is farther from the rotation center position Rc than the position S where the leading edge of the document hits the contact portion 10b.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the contact portion 10b is formed in the document width direction (X direction) so as to cover the entire area through which the document can pass in the document width direction that is a direction intersecting the document conveyance direction. Therefore, the passage of the document can be detected regardless of the document size.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the contact portion 10b is provided at an appropriate interval along the document width direction (X direction) as shown in FIG. The lever 10 can be pushed up with a lighter force.

Note that the control unit 16 (FIG. 5), after a predetermined time after detecting that the front end of the document rotates the document detection lever 10 based on the detection signal received from the sensor unit 13 (FIGS. 3 and 4), It is possible to execute an automatic mode in which driving of the conveyance roller 11 and reading of a document are started.
More specifically, referring to FIG. 19, when the control unit 16 detects the passage of the leading edge of the document based on the detection signal received from the sensor unit 13 (Yes in step S101), a weight for a predetermined time is provided (step S102). ). This weight can be set to 1 second, for example. Since the leading edge of the document has almost reached the nip position between the transport roller 11 and the sensor unit 20 due to the weight for the predetermined time, the transport of the document, that is, the driving of the transport roller 11 and the document reading by the sensor unit 20 are performed. Start (step S103).
Next, the read image data is rotationally corrected (step S104), and the document image is cut out (step S105). Steps S104 and S105 are image processing.
In such an automatic mode, reading of the document is started before the leading edge of the document is nipped between the transport roller 11 and the sensor unit 20, so that it is possible to avoid image loss at the leading edge of the document.

  In the scanner 1 described above, the roller for feeding the document has only the conveyance roller 11. However, the configuration is not limited to this, and a configuration having a plurality of rollers may be used. For example, a configuration in which a pair of rollers is a first roller pair, the sensor unit 20 is provided downstream of the first roller pair, and a second roller pair that is a pair of rollers is further provided downstream thereof. In the case of such a configuration, the one roller of the first roller pair can be the transport roller 11 according to the above embodiment.

In the above-described embodiment, the document pressing unit that presses the document between the conveyance roller 11 is configured by the sensor unit 20, but is not limited thereto, and may be configured by another member such as a roller as described above.
In the above embodiment, the sensor unit 20 is provided on one side with respect to the document transport path T. However, a sensor unit may be provided on the other side so that both sides of the document can be read.

  Each characteristic configuration of the scanner 1 described above is applied to a scanner which is an example of an image reading apparatus, but is applied to a recording apparatus including a recording head for recording on a medium, represented by a printer. It is also possible to do.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Scanner (image reading apparatus), 2 ... Apparatus main body, 3 ... Lower housing, 3c ... Hole, 3d ... Rib, 3e-3h ... Inner wall, 4 ... Upper housing, 4a ... Rib, 4b ... Guide groove, 4c ... Hole 4 ... Guide groove, 5 ... Document insertion port, 6 ... Document discharge port, 7 ... Operation panel, 8 ... Top frame, 9 ... Path forming member, 9a ... Recess, 10 ... Document detection lever, 10a ... Center of rotation, 10b DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS Contact part, 11 ... Conveyance roller, 12 ... Coil spring, 13 ... Sensor part, 14 ... Connector insertion port, 15 ... Connection part, 16 ... Control part, 17 ... Battery, 18 ... Motor, 19 ... Spring, 20 ... Sensor Unit: 21 ... Glass plate, 21a ... Reading surface, 22 ... Frame, 22a ... Projection, 22b ... Projection, 22c ... Projection, 23 ... Circuit board, 24 ... Vibration absorber, 30 ... Invitation part, 30a ... Rotating shaft 31 ... coil spring

Claims (7)

A document transport path for transporting a document that extends along a horizontal direction when the apparatus is in the first posture;
A transport roller for transporting the document toward a reading position for reading the document in the document transport path;
Rotation that is provided upstream of the conveyance roller in the document conveyance path and can take a posture in which the contact portion that contacts the document by rotating blocks the document conveyance route and a posture in which the contact portion opens the document conveyance route. A contact member;
A pressing member that presses the rotating contact member in a direction in which the contact portion blocks the document conveyance path;
Detecting means for detecting the posture of the rotating contact member,
The rotation center of the rotation contact member is located above the document conveyance path in the first posture, and the contact portion protrudes from the upper side to the lower side of the document conveyance path,
The position of the center of gravity of the rotating contact member is below the center of rotation in the first posture.
An image reading apparatus. 2. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pressing force of the pressing member is such that when the attitude of the apparatus is a second attitude along the original conveyance path along the vertical direction, the contact portion conveys the original. The size is set to keep the route blocked,
An image reading apparatus. 3. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the position of the center of gravity is closer to the rotation center than a position at which a leading end of the document hits the contact portion.
An image reading apparatus. 4. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the contact portion covers an entire area in which a document can pass in a document width direction that is a direction intersecting a document conveyance direction. 5.
An image reading apparatus. The image reading apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the contact portion is provided at an appropriate interval along the document width direction.
An image reading apparatus. The image reading apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a sensor unit that reads a document,
The sensor unit presses the document between the transport rollers,
An image reading apparatus. The image reading apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising a control unit that receives a detection signal from the detection unit and controls the conveyance roller.
The control means starts driving the transport roller and reading the document after a predetermined time after detecting that the leading edge of the document rotates the rotating contact member based on the detection signal.
An image reading apparatus.

Images